Posted on 08/09/2002 6:51:35 AM PDT by mr.sarcastic
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Sidestepping a no-new-taxes pledge, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said yesterday she supports a 36-cent-a-pack increase in Maryland's cigarette tax to pay for health care for the uninsured.
Townsend said she would ask for the increase in the second year of her administration if elected governor, maintaining her commitment not to raise taxes in the first year - when state officials will grapple with an estimated $900 million budget shortfall and an uncertain economy.
"I want to make sure the money is used for expanded coverage, not filling in gaps," Townsend said.
Maryland's $1-a-pack cigarette tax is already among the highest in the nation. It was raised 34 cents by the General Assembly this year to help pay for state aid to public schools.
A further increase in the tax is part of a three-pronged pledge that a nonprofit coalition called the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative is asking candidates for governor and the state legislature to sign.
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Robert O.C. Worcester, president of Maryland Business for Responsive Government, called the initiative's latest iteration "a more salable, modest proposal in an election year that they think they can get by. ... Their goal is to have Maryland have the model for government-run health care for the country."
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(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
You think Maryland is a socialist state now... if KKT gets elected governor, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
"I want to make sure the money is used for expanded coverage, not filling in gaps," Townsend said.
Maryland's $1-a-pack cigarette tax is already among the highest in the nation. It was raised 34 cents by the General Assembly this year to help pay for state aid to public schools.
A tax that is earmarked for a certain place means that the state legislature does not have to finance that operation. So, if this tax is destined for health care, the state legislature will simply reduce funding for health care by the amount collected.
Do not be fooled by the double talk, a tax is a tax. Cigarette tax earmarked for education means simply that there will be less funding from the general budget for the same item.
This principal applies in a roundabout way with corporate taxes. A corporation builds into its price structure any taxes it pays to the state or feds. Ultimately, corporations DON'T pay taxes, you do.
I'm not so naive to think that if corporate taxes were reduced 15%, prices on all products would go down 15%. However a reduction of all corporate taxes would immediately give business a 15% shot in the arm that they could use for other things like modernization and staffing.
You are generally correct. However, in this situation, KKT's intentions are even more insidious. The revenues from this proposed tax increase would be earmarked for vastly expanding health care. To quote from the article, " Their goal is to have Maryland be the model for government-run health care for the country." Nothing like good old-fashioned socialism.
Unfortunately, the Baltimore Sun is one of the publications we cannot post full-text articles from... but go read the rest of the article... the rest of it basically discusses the socialist health care issue.
She's not losing. This race is a dead heat. But it does sound like Ehrlich will have the full support of smokers!
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